Footsteps
by Ankh-Ascendant
Summary: Nearly five hundred years after Sesshoumaru became Inuyasha’s mate, their sons are following in their footsteps… and Sesshoumaru is following in that of their own father. Sequel to "In a Blue Moon, MPREG version"


___TITLE: Footsteps  
CHAPTER: oneshot  
AUTHOR: Ankh Ascendant ( setosgirl0 / neferseti0 )  
DATE: 7-19-06 – 9-6-09 (Yes, I started typing this more than three years before I finished doing so. It was discouragingly long. I really, truly apologize to those who read the first one and expressed interest in the sequel… :( Forgive me? )  
FANDOM: Inuyasha  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha or make any money from it.  
PAIRINGS: Inuyasha/Sesshomaru, Inu-maru/Tennin  
TYPE: Drama/Romance  
RATING: Hard R  
WARNINGS: Incest, Twincest, Minor, OC, shounen-ai, borderline abuse, near shota  
OCs: Inu-maru, Tennin (Sesshoumaru's kids)  
BETA: none  
WORDS: 11,286  
SUMMARY: Nearly five hundred years after Sesshoumaru became Inuyasha's mate, their sons are following in their footsteps… and Sesshoumaru is following in that of their own father.  
NOTES: Sequel/follow-up to __******In a Blue Moon, MPreg version**__**.**__ Beware that that is a highly inappropriate story for minors._

* * *

_Footsteps_

Tennin sat quietly on an ancient stone bench in the neat gardens, watching his brother play with his uncle. Inu-maru leapt at Inuyasha, mock growling; the elder hanyou fell onto his back and flipped him over him. The apparent teenager yelped and tried to turn himself around in the air, but it didn't really work and he flew headlong into the brush beneath the trees. He lightly hopped out back into the open on all fours, growling again, his long silver tail swishing through the air, his ears laid nearly flat. Big golden eyes narrowed at Inuyasha.

The adult grinned and hopped into the tree above him. Inu-maru followed him with his eyes, then grinned, exposing his fangs, bunched himself inside his red fire-rat pants that were all he generally wore, and leapt after him. Inuyasha jumped to another tree, and the chase was on. Both were enjoying themselves immensely.

A strong hand picked up a six foot tree branch and lightly flung it. The limb collided with Inuyasha as he landed on another tree branch, and he fell heavily to the ground.

"Ow! Sesshoumaru, what he hell? That _hurt_!" exclaimed the hanyou as he sat up, holding his head.

"What are you doing, Inuyasha?" the eldest demon demanded, but not harshly. Tennin silently watched him sit down, then stood up and came to him.

"Father, may I –?"

"Yes," Sesshou said expressionlessly, but not unkindly, and his son sat on his lap, his back toward his one arm, which was wrapped comfortably around him. He rested against his father's shoulder and looked at the other two with somewhat sad-looking brown eyes.

"I'm playing with the kid." Though he had matured greatly since their mating, and could actually be called an adult, nothing would probably change his personality. "You have a problem with that?"

"You are teaching him to be an animal," Sesshou said, "but little else."

A silver blur sped from the trees and came to a stop at Sesshoumaru's feet, revealing itself to be a large silver dog with an intricate marking on his forehead. He dropped the stick Sesshou had hit Inuyasha with and laid his head on his lap, panting and looking up at the two of them. Tennin put one delicate hand lightly on his twin brother's head and lightly stroked his fur.

Sesshou leaned down, careful of his other son on his lap, and picked up the stick to throw it far out into the forest, so that it nearly disappeared with the distance. Inu-maru licked his face lightly and sped off after it.

Inuyasha glared at him. "Me? I'm not the one playing fetch with him."

"You are also doing nothing to teach him proper manners – you haven't even taught him to wear proper clothing." He lightly ran his hand through his other son's well-groomed hair, a gesture that went oddly with his expressionless face. Tennin himself was clothed in a pale blue kimono and silvery-blue hakama pants, and black boots, which compliment the light blue of his eyelids and visible stripes, his silvery hair, and his pale skin. His ears were more human, pointed like Sesshoumaru's. His stripes on his cheeks and wrists, also present on his hips and thighs but rarely seen, were also like his father's, smooth and delicate. Inu-maru's, on the other hand, were more similar to Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's father's, jagged, as though they had been torn in the skin, though they were the exact fuchsia color of Sesshoumaru's. Inu-maru had the stripes everywhere his brother did, save the thighs; he had them on his shoulders instead, for some reason.

"He doesn't wear all those clothes because he doesn't _want_ to," Inuyasha said rather fervently, coming to sit beside them. "He's more wild – not that you'd know anything about that."

"I suppose not," Sesshou agreed evenly.

Inu-maru came speeding back with the stick, dropping it once more at their feet. Sesshou ignored it. "No more," he said, and the elder son agreeably changed back into his human-looking form, sitting on the grass between Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's legs. He rested his chin on the stone bench and looked up at his brother.

Sesshou continued stroking Tennin's slightly-wavy hair. He loved both of his children, but he couldn't help being somewhat more fond of the younger twin – for they _were_ twins, though they had different fathers and didn't look alike. Even though Tennin had been born three weeks later. He had carried them together, and they had developed a bond with each other. Tennin had nearly died before he was even born from being separated from his twin, and Inu-maru adored his younger brother. They loved each other very much, needed each other very much. Especially Tennin. He would die if he were separated from Inu-maru.

He wasn't quite sure _why_ he was so much more fond of Tennin. Inu-maru did remind him more of Inuyasha, but that was only to be expected, since Inuyasha was his father. Tennin, on the other hand, reminded him more of himself, if anyone. Not his father, certainly. His father had been Naraku, and he had been conceived when Naraku kidnapped and raped the already-pregnant Sesshoumaru. Luckily, he seemed to have inherited the evil instincts of neither parent; in fact, he was a very gentle boy, somewhat weak in fact. He acted much as Sesshoumaru himself did, cold and expressionless, but Sesshou saw right through it. He didn't have any real desire to be strong, though he could certainly defend himself if pressed. He would rather someone else took control and were strong. Sesshoumaru was that way himself, now, though he hadn't been before Inuyasha. He had had to be forced to give up his strength and control, then… but he hadn't made any move to take it back since.

Maybe that was why… or maybe it was his sad eyes that did it. From the day he had been born, his eyes had always been a little sad, as though he knew some terrible secret and it was constantly in the back of his mind, tainting his every thought. Sesshoumaru had vowed not to let his unfortunate parentage ruin his life, but somehow he thought that maybe it already had. The first thing Tennin had seen when he'd opened his eyes had been Naraku, grinning at finally having an heir… followed closely by Sesshoumaru himself, collared and chained to Naraku's bed, as Naraku refused to let him hold him even as the newborn baby had reached for him. It still made Sesshou slightly sad, and much more homicidally angry. Such a first few moments, after the trauma of being separated from his beloved twin weeks earlier, couldn't help but affect him.

He growled softly at the memory of Naraku, inaudible even to his own ears, and rested his chin lightly on his son's head for a moment before moving his face to press his nose lightly to his temple. He knew the other two were probably watching him, but he didn't care. Even he was occasionally allowed to show affection toward someone he truly cared for.

Inuyasha rubbed Inu-maru's head, ruffling his ears, and stood up. Inu-maru immediately hopped up like a dog and took his place, laying his head on Tennin's lap and leaning it against his father's stomach. His tail wagged listlessly as his open, friendly gold eyes looked up into his brother's sad brown ones. Sesshoumaru watched them; if he'd had his other arm, he would have been stroking Inu's hair as well – despite taking more after his father, he had Sesshou's hair, almost exactly, except for the two locks that hung in front of his shoulders, disguising his lack of human ears. He wore it in a low-tied ponytail that brushed the ground and swayed nicely in the breeze.

But he had no other arm with which to pet him, so he shifted slightly, wrapping his arm completely around his thin younger son and reached toward him. Inu-maru smiled brightly and moved his head to meet his father's hand, moving his head like a domesticated dog who wanted to be petted more. Sesshou expressionlessly obliged, noting how his eyes closed and his ears lay contentedly flat as his tail swished faster. Tennin leaned his head against his father's shoulder.

Inuyasha watched them for a moment. "You three are so cute," he said finally. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing. Inuyasha smiled and walked away into the castle.

Inu-maru abruptly scrambled up onto Sesshou's lap beside his brother, wrapping his strong arms around Tennin and leaning his head on his shoulder. They were both apparently around thirteen years old, though in reality, their age was almost five hundred, and, though neither of them was particularly large, they did fill his lap fairly completely. He didn't mind; he loved them, and he rarely showed it in any more concrete way than letting them act this way.

He ran his claws through Inu-maru's silvery locks. "You take little care of your hair," he said slightly disapprovingly. He picked a leaf out and dropped it to the ground. "It looks like your uncle's. You need to wash it."

Inu sighed and looked at him with big puppy eyes, which he was very good at, still holding his brother. "Daddy… Do I have to…?"

"You may not like bathing," Sesshou said calmly, "but yes, you must. Go do so."

The boy sighed, then kissed his brother's cheek and hopped away toward the natural hot springs, taking much of the weight off of Sesshou's lap. He wasn't fat, but he was solid and muscular – unlike Tennin, who was just thin. Of course, he was strong, but he wasn't anywhere near as much as his older brother.

Tennin leaned his head against his father's cheek for a moment more, about all the more effusive he was with his affection, then gently moved from Sesshou's lap. To go keep his brother company, of course; they were never out of eyesight if the could help it. He smiled very slightly, and Sesshou returned it.

"I will see you later, father," he said calmly.

"Yes," Sesshou said. "Please make sure your brother actually dresses."

"Yes, father," Tennin said, and calmly walked away after a little bow. Sesshou watched him go for a moment, then stood up and went after Inuyasha, finding him walking in the hallway.

The hanyou turned around as he heard him coming and put his hands immediately on his brother's hips, kissing him deeply as Sesshou wrapped his arm around him in turn. Sesshou sank into the kiss, until Inuyasha pulled away and broke it.

"Where are the kids?" he asked, looking just a touch up at his brother.

"I sent Inu-maru to bathe," Sesshou answered easily. "We have time; Tennin will make sure he does it properly."  
Inuyasha grinned. "Then what're we waiting for?" He pulled Sesshou quickly to his room. He laid Sesshou down on the bed and sat beside him, leaning over him with one hand on either side of his head to kiss him. Sesshou purred very quietly and pulled him down.

_ – =*= – _

Tennin found his father in the large library, simply looking through the shelves. He turned when he heard his son approach, knowing it must be important if he were away from, his brother.

"Yes, Tennin?" he asked, almost kindly.

"They're playing too roughly again," he said. Sesshou knew what he meant without asking. Tennin didn't like it when his brother and Inuyasha were too rough, because he always worried Inu-maru would get hurt. Though he couldn't prove it, he suspected Tennin actually felt Inu-maru's pain.

He nodded and touched his shoulder, and walked with him out to the gardens again. Both "Inu"s spent a lot of time out in the gardens, out in the open, not liking to be cooped up even in Sesshoumaru's huge home.

As they exited the castle, he heard a yelp that trailed off into a whine, and from the corner of his eye he saw Tennin wince. He narrowed his eyes and stepped purposely forward toward the rustling lump in the tall grass where they wrestled, reaching down to grab a heavy piece of wood, a nice hard branch very similar to the one he'd thrown at Inuyasha when he was letting Inu-maru chase him through the trees, and brought it down with enough force to break it over his brother's shoulders, actual anger reflected in the eyes of an otherwise expressionless face.

"Stop biting him, Inuyasha!" he commanded. "You can hear that it hurts him."

Inuyasha picked himself off the ground. "What the hell?" He was openly seething.

Inu-maru looked at his father for a moment before scrambling up and standing beside him, looking up into his face. "We were only playing," he said earnestly.

"It ceases to be playing when it causes you pain," Sesshoumaru said calmly. He noticed that the boy had one of his ears down while the other was fully upright, and slid his claws under the folded ear, coaxing it up to look at it. That made both of his sons wince again. His eyes flashed with anger again as he saw the bloody impressions of his brother's teeth.  
He lashed out with his hand and caught Inuyasha's ear in his claws without looking at him. The sharp nails bit into the sensitive skin, drawing a whimper from him.

"Do _not_ bite his ears," he said, his voice deceptively calm, as he pulled Inuyasha up. The eldest hanyou obediently scrambled to his feet, head tilted so that the ear Sesshou was holding was higher, with less force on it. "Do you understand me?"

Inuysha whimpered again, for the first time in more than a century at his brother's mercy. "Yes…" he whined. "Yes… yes, I understand, just let the fuck go…!"

"Good." Sesshou gave the ear a cruel squeeze and waited until he got a satisfying yelp before he let it go. Inuyasha raised a hand to his injured ear, holding it against his head with a quiet whimper. Sesshoumaru guessed that meant it hurt quite a lot… He deserved tit for doing it to their son.

Inu-maru glanced between the adults. "I'm sorry…?" He obviously didn't know if he had something to apologize for, but he was trying to smooth things over.

"You've done nothing," Sesshou assured him, lightly running his hand over the hair at the back of his head. His son smiled a little and rubbed his head under his hand briefly, then bounded over to his brother.

"I'm sorry," he said, crouching down and looking up into Tennin's face. His entire posture said that he knew he'd worried Tennin and was abjectly sorry for it.

Tennin graced him with a very small smile that said more than any words could have, and Inu yipped in delight and jumped up to squeeze his brother in a hug, then happily loped off into the forest on all fours. Tennin sat down on one of the ancient stone benches to wait for him to return.

Sesshou reflected that Inu was very much like a dog. It was more like Tennin had a pet than a twin sometimes; he was definitely the more mature of the two.

But Inu worshiped and adored him, and that was what really mattered. When Tennin turned human – they both did, being each a quarter human, each on the same phase of the moon when they had been born – it was Inu-maru who stayed awake all night, never leaving his side until the sun rose in the morning, even here at home where they were safe. It was Inu-maru who turned into a dog and was never further away from his brother than if he were on a short leash on those rare occasions when Sesshou or Inuyasha would take them away from the castle, outside of their territory. And all that he asked in return was that his brother love him, which he obviously did.

Sesshoumaru was awakened from his thoughtful reverie when Inuyasha leapt from his side into a tree and sat there, his injured ear still pressed flat to his hair. He looked up at him for a moment, then back to his still patently waiting son.

"If you need me again," he said, "I will be inside."

"All right, father," Tennin said, looking at him. Sesshou, after a moment, walked away into the castle.

Tennin sat on the bench, completely still and unoccupied, waiting patiently.

Half an hour of silence passed before Inu-maru came charging up, a silver blur, and bowled Tennin completely over, knocking him to the ground with his paws on his shoulders, licking his face. Tennin's hands wound up on his brother's sides, and he rubbed his fur lightly, not particularly startled by the sudden pouncing. The elder of the two happily returned to his human form, sitting beside his brother instead of on top of him, and grinned at him as he pulled him back to a sitting position in the grass.

"Here," he said, holding a flower, that had apparently appeared as he left his dog form. "I found it, and I know you like pretty things…"

Tennin took the flower and looked at it curiously, leaning into Inu-maru's shoulder. It looked like no other flower he had ever seen before; he was sure it wasn't a normal flower. It was beautiful, though, pure white with soft delicate petals and long, light leaves. "Where did you find this?" he asked.

Inumaru shrugged. "There's this meadow somewhere in the forest… I don't really know how to get there, but sometimes I just run and I find it. There's lot of these flowers there. I'd take you, but…" He shrugged again. "Even if I could find it, I think it would take a couple days for you to get there."

"That's all right," Tennin said, still looking at the flower. Inu stood up and he followed suit without moving his gaze. He followed his brother inside, where they located a delicate crystal vase and filled it with water for the flower, Together, they took it to their shared bedroom. Tennin set it on a small table in the corner, after clearing off a few decorative pieces. Their room was rather dim; night was beginning to fall outside, and their room faced east so that little light came through the large open window areas. When he stepped away from the flower, he noticed that it seemed to be glowing faintly, bringing a little starlight into the dark corner of the room.

He sat on their bed, looking at it absently. One hand moved to stroke his fur, like the fur his father carried with him. When he had been born, after his father had been free, he's he'd changed into a giant dog to punish the other man, the scary man that still frightened Tennin now, just thinking about him. He had been very young – a few hours old? A few days? He didn't know – but he had watched him fight with the scary man. He remembered that he'd won, but he didn't know if the other man was dead or unconscious or had just run away. But then – and this he did remember, perfectly – he had turned frightening red eyes toward him, but he hadn't been frightened. His father had turned his head and torn a tuft of fur from his tail, and returned to his human shape… He had used the fur as a blanket to wrap him in, and he had had it ever since. It had grown with him, too; it was now around ten feet long and he could still completely wrap himself in it, with room to spare. Sometimes he did. It smelled of Father… he loved to be surrounded by that smell. When he was human, he spent all night sitting inside a cocoon of fur with Inu-maru. It made him feel safe.

Inu sat on the bed behind him, and he leaned back against him. Inu gently wrapped his arms around him. Tennin rested his head on his brother's shoulder and rubbed his cheek gently.

"Do that again," Inu said, shivering slightly. "It felt good."

He obediently rubbed his head over his brother's cheek again, making him shiver once more. It made him curious. "What is it that feels so good?" he asked, looking up at him.

"When you touch my striped," he told him. "It feels… weird, but goof." He raised one hand and drew two fingers along the pale blue stripes on Tennin's cheeks.

The feeling was instantaneous. The younger boy felt his eyes widen slightly. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. Strangle, like the feeling trickled down his spine to sit just below his stomach, but good, as Inu said. He likes it, and sat up further to rub his striped cheek over Inu-maru's. Inu gasped, but Tennin just hugged him tightly. He felt the strange urge to touch his brother, be in physical contact with him.

Inu felt the same, and hugged him back. His tail flapped once, lying on the bed. He wanted… something, and he wanted it very badly, but he didn't know what it was, so he just hugged him, holding him as tight as he dared, without hurting him.  
Tennin saw his tail move and moved on hand down from his brother's back to stroke it, running his blue-clawed fingers through the fur. Inu gasped quietly and shuddered, his head hanging limply. His yearning increased, even though he didn't know what it was he was yearning for. Tennin opened his mouth to ask if that felt good, but his lips brushed against Inu's skin and he stopped. That felt…

Inu turned his face to look at him, then grinned. "This is fun," he said. "Finding things that feel good like this." Tennin nodded without saying anything. It was fun, and it passed the time, but it made him want something that he didn't understand. He figured he could ignore that feeling, though.

Inu moved and set him down on the bed, turning to that they were facing each other. He inspected Tennin critically, as if trying to decide something.

"What?" Tennin asked quietly.

"I'm trying to figure out…" the canine boy started slowly. "Touching the stripes on our cheeks feels good, so I wonder about the rest of them. You should take your kimono off."

Tennin did as he suggested without hesitation, dropping half of his clothing onto the floor. He also removed his boots to be more comfortable and sat back, now wearing only his silvery hakama pants.

Inu's tail flopped on the bed again as his eyes roamed over his brother's exposed body, over the blue stripes showing just above the top of his pants, over his thin, pale body. He didn't really look like he was starving, he just didn't have Inu-maru's obvious muscles. His eyes ran over the vaguely spider-shaped birthmark on his collar bone, then up to his face, over his smooth blue stripes, to his perpetually sad-looking eyes, with their blue lids. The sight of him made him feel something indescribable that he'd never experienced, something possessive and cuddly at the same time.

Tennin leaned forward, up on his knees, and reached toward him, not quite looking in his eyes. After a moment, his reaching hand came into contact with the jagged fuchsia stripe on Inu's shoulder, rubbing it experimentally. He watched his brother's face as he did, to determine if it actually did anything, deciding that it did as his eyes closed and he leaned into the hand. Tennin's touch became more confident, tracing the edges of it, feeling the difference in textures between the stripe and the rest of his skin.

Inu opened his eyes as he finally took his hand away. He was breathing a little heavily as he met his brother's brown eyes, inches from his face, as Tennin was still leaning forward.

"That was so great," he said. Then he leaned forward and impulsively licked his brother's cheek, straight over the stripes.  
Tennin lost his balance and fell forward as he felt that, eyes wide in surprise. Inu drew back a little and caught him, but he found himself leaning precariously; in a moment he fall onto his back, still holding Tennin above him. The younger blinked once, startled, then leaned down and pressed his lips to his brother's.

Inu was surprised, but this felt pretty good too, so he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on what he was feeling. Their noses were mashed together, thought, so he turned his head slightly. That seemed to work better, and it continued for a little while before Tennin pulled away.

"Why'd you do that?" Inu asked. "I never would have thought of doing anything like that."

"I've seen father and Uncle Inuyasha do it," Tennin pointed out. "They do it pretty often."

Inu grinned again. "I wish they'd told us about this.," he said. "It's fun." He leaned up and rubbed his cheek against Tennin's, rubbing their stripes together for a second time. Tennin whined quietly and leaned his forehead against Inu's shoulder, closing his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Inu immediately pulled him away to look into his face, his voice full of concern for his brother. He sat up with him, worried.

Tennin shook his head, though. "There's nothing wrong."

Inu's eyes searched his face. "Then why'd you whine?"

"I don't know… It felt good…"

"You weirdo," his brother said, covering his relief that there was nothing the matter. "Why would you whine if something felt good?"

"I don't know, but it did." He shifted his position slightly, trying to relieve the growing discomfort in his groin, but it wasn't much use. He wondered if maybe they should stop this until he could figure out why he felt so strange. Really, though, he didn't want to. He wanted to go on – almost felt like he couldn't stop.

He leaned forward and clumsily kissed his brother again. Inu accidentally opened his mouth slightly, and his tongue touched Tennin's lip. It should have been kind of gross, but Tennin tasted so good… He pulled away from the kiss and licked his cheek, just clear skin, not the stripes. Tennin leaned against him, and he wrapped his arms tightly around him. He'd never noticed the taste of his skin before, though he licked his cheek or forehead pretty regularly. He tasted good, though… His skin tasted different from his lips, and his stripes tasted different still. The thought crossed his mind that maybe the birthmark on his collarbone also tasted different, and he leaned his head down to lick it.

Tennin immediately felt something weird happen inside of him. All of his muscles seemed to tighten; he couldn't keep his eyes open, and his clawed fingers clenched, dragging into his brother's back, but he was helpless to stop it. A loud whine that turned into a cry erupted from his throat, as he felt he got whatever he had been dying for, whatever release it was that he needed in an overwhelming flood of pleasure. His head hung limply over Inu's shoulder as he panted for breath.

"I'm sorry–" Inu said quickly. "I didn't mean to – did I hurt you? I'm sorry, Tennin…" He quickly laid his limp, unresisting brother on the bed, hovering over him with his ears lying completely flat.

But he shook his head slightly. "No, you didn't hurt me… I wish you could have felt that.." He sat up and pulled himself close to Inu, holding onto him tightly. It still felt good, to have their bare chests pressed together, to be in contact with him. He heard a low rumbling noise but dismissed it, too content to care. He didn't even care that it felt vaguely as though he had wet himself when whatever had happened… had happened, though he normally would have been mortified.

Inu hugged him in relief. "I thought I hurt you, when you went all stiff and clenched up… and you whined like that…"

"No… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you." Tennin was suddenly unusually expressive and kissed Inu's cheek.

Inu almost whined in distress, with his brother's body pressed against him and the pain from the scratches on his back already fading. He wanted whatever he wanted so badly, but he didn't know how to get it…. or even how to ask for it.

Tennin pulled away slightly to look at him, searching his face. He realized that he was being selfish; he should try to help Inu feel what he had, return the favor. Inu had made him feel so good, even if he was still a little out of breath. He should at least _try_ to do the same for him.

He lightly flicked his tongue over the jagged fuchsia stripes on his cheek, watching Inu's eyes close and his breath catch. It was a good start, but he saw it wasn't good enough, even though that had almost been enough for him. Licking his birthmark was what had done it for him… what did Inu have like that…?

The answer was 'nothing', so far as Tennin knew. In that one was, he was unique. Maybe Inu _couldn't_ feel that way… But his brother wanted it so very much, and he didn't have the power to deny him anything. So he had to try.

He moved and sat on Inu's lap, casually draping his legs around him to get as close to him as he could. The actions affected Inu, though, like he never expected and like it never had before. The older boy leaned backward a little, moaning quietly. Tennin tilted his head, inspecting him, trying to determine why, what exactly was giving him the pleasure. He noticed that something was pressing into his bottom as he sat, and shifted absently to get comfortable.

That appeared to be what was doing it, as Inu moaned and moved his hips forward, pressing against him. Tennin experimentally moved again, drawing the same reaction. Inu was breathing very heavily, moaning wantonly in pleasure… Tennin surmised that he was doing his job wonderfully. He wrapped his arms around Inu's shoulders, pulling him closer, and kissed him again, moving his hips forward and back over the hard bulge in his brother's pants. For some reason, he began to feel that same discomfort again, even though nothing was happening to him, he was just giving pleasure to Inu.

Inu pulled his lips away and whined, resting his head limply on Tennin's shoulder. "Tennin…" he whimpered. "More…" He was breathing heavily and whining, trying to move his hips with Tennin's to get more contact.

Tennin felt Inu's muscles stiffen as he finally got his release. His teeth dug into Tennin's shoulder, deeply, making the younger boy gasp in surprise, though the pain barely affect him. He didn't understand exactly why he had done it… Probably like the scratches he'd given him, he couldn't help it.

Then Inu pulled away from him, and he looked tired, so Tennin lay down with him and wrapped them both comfortably in the huge fur, holding each other close as they slowly fell asleep.

_ – =*= – _

Inuyasha watched the boys leave, then dropped from the tree and ran into the forest, not trying to get anywhere in particular. Perfect, he thought as he eventually stopped, looking at the sight before him. It worked.

_ – =*= – _

Inuyasha slipped into Sesshoumaru's room, finding him there sitting on the bed and brushing his hair. He sat down next to him and wrapped his arms around him, kissing his neck.

"I thought you would be angry," Sesshou said, still brushing his hair unconcernedly.

Inuyasha flicked his now-uninjured ear. "I was, until Inu came back. He brought a flower for Tennin… Here." He held out a flower very similar to the one his son had given his brother.

Sesshou stopped short and dropped the brush on the bed, gently taking the flower between his claws. "Where did you find this?"

Inuyasha grinned. "Magic clearing in the forest. You can't find it if you want to, you just have to run in the forest and think of someone dear to you. It's full of plants like this."

Sesshoumaru unexpectedly crushed the flower. "I know." A faint clean scent drifted from the crushed blossom as he dropped it to the floor and turned away, picking up the brush again.

"What the hell, Sesshou?" Inu demanded angrily. "What was that for? If you don't want me here, just say so. You don't have to be an ass."

"It has nothing to do with you, Inuyasha."

"Then what is it?" Inuyasha touched the scar on his brother's neck lightly with his claws, drawing a quick shudder from Sesshou.

It was a moment before the elder answered. "You abuse the power of that mark."

"Well?"

Sesshoumaru had no choice but to answer. He didn't want to, but he couldn't not. "I created those plants, that clearing. Every one of those flowers has a bit of my life force in it… of my soul, if you prefer." He still didn't face him.

Inuyasha was confused. "When did you do that?"

"Several hundred years ago. I was a child."

He whistled. "Wow… but why? They're beautiful… why did you trap pieces of your soul in the flowers?" He picked up the crushed plant from the floor and looked at it a little sadly.

Sesshou turned and took it from him. "You don't understand. I never trapped my soul anywhere. I created a flower from nothing." He held the flower in his hand. It slowly rose into the air, glowing faintly, and began to rebuild itself. "I wanted it to be perfect and beautiful. I put so much of myself into its creation that it had a part of my soul in it." The flower was once more whole, but still glowing faintly and hanging in the air above his hand.

Inuyasha watched the flower in quiet wonder. "So why did you crush it? If they mean so much to you…"

Sesshoumaru abruptly removed his hand, dropping the glowing flower to the floor. "They do not." He turned away again.

For the second time, Inuyasha picked the flower off the floor. This time he held it. "What changed, then? Because you obviously used to care, if you put that much of yourself into them."

Sesshou didn't want to answer. He wanted to forget about this conversation and those flowers… but he couldn't.

"I made those flowers for our father."

Inuyasha looked at the flower again. He shouldn't be surprised… or jealous, for that matter, but he was both. "Because you loved him, right?" It was hard to talk about, the sick relationship they'd had, but Sesshoumaru still didn't seem to think it was that big a deal.

"Yes. I… wanted to show him how I saw him."

"You saw him like this?" The incredulity was obvious in his voice, but he wrapped his arms around Sesshoumaru and held the flower in front of them both.

"Yes," he said again, and touched the petals with light claws, his eyes focused on it. "It is… beautiful. Strong… they're almost impossible to kill, they still live after being picked from the ground. It's as close to perfection as I can manage."

"How you saw him."

"Yes." A claw caressed the leaf lightly. Inuyasha tried not to see the emotion behind the gestures. He couldn't still feel anything for him…

"I guess he liked it when you showed him."

Sesshoumaru glanced over his shoulder at him. "He crushed it."

His ears flicked back. "What?"

"What use had he for a flower? It was an insult to him… and I agree, it was completely unworthy of him. So much attention put into creating a sword or a useful being would have suited him much more, and he would have appreciated it, I think. At least I would have been of use to him."

"Crushed it…" Inuyasha repeated. He couldn't imagine throwing away anything Sesshou gave him so callously.

"That was the single most physically painful thing I've experienced," Sesshoumaru said casually.

He squeezed him and nuzzled his ear. "He did that, and you still…"

"You underestimate how much I worshiped him, Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru leaned slightly into him.

And from what he saw, maybe still did. Inuyasha made another noise, but let the ever-touchy subject go, so that hopefully he could forget it, and kissed Sesshou's neck. "Why do you care so much how I play with Inu-maru?" he asked out of the blue. "You know it didn't really hurt him that bad."

Sesshoumaru hardly seemed to notice the change in subject. "You;re teaching him that it's all right for you to hurt him because you're stranger than he is. If you do that, he'll learn only that it is right for the strong to prey on the weak. And, invariably, he would do so, because he is strong and and doesn't know anything but what we teach him."

"Hn…" Inuyasha considered that. "So what were you teaching him then, when you hopped in there to attack me?" His ears folded down to his head, as though remembering the pain.

Sesshoumaru looked at him expressionlessly. "That the weak will be protected. That the bad people don't always win. Mostly, I suppose, that I am always there to protect them." He said it with no real visible emotion, but Inuyasha smiled at the words.

"That's sweet," he said. "Awfully touchy-feely coming from you, though." He pulled Sesshou back to rest his head on his shoulder, brushing bangs out of the way on his forehead and brushing his knuckles across the moon there, making him close his eyes and whine gently. "You don't always have to be strong like that." He kissed him. "I wouldn't mind seeing the part of you that could create this…"

Sesshou closed his hand around the one of Inuyasha's holding the flower and kissed him again.

_ – =*= – _

Tennin approached his father while Inu-maru was running around in the forest outside, chasing animals and less powerful youkai in the forest. He found Sesshoumaru sitting alone in his bedroom, looking at a flower nearly identical to the one Inu had given him. It seemed to almost startled him when he heard Tennin's step, but he covered it well, looking calmly toward the door.

"Yes?" he asked, watching him.

"I have a question, Father," the boy told him.

Sesshou turned to sit so that Tennin could take his favorite seat on his lap if he so desired, and Tennin took the invitation. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know," Tennin admitted, looking into his father's face with his arms around him, as Sesshou's was around him. They were physically openly affectionate, but neither of their faces or words reflected any of it. It was strange to see, but it was how they interacted. "Inu-maru and I were playing yesterday, and he bit me, and it hasn't healed yet. I was only wondering if something were wrong with me."

Sesshoumaru tilted his head a touch in curiosity. "Show me."

His son obediently turned his head away and tugged down his kimono sleeve, so that the bite mark on his shoulder was visible. It was only half healed, Sesshou saw, though it was almost a day old, which was an absurd healing period for any normal would as simple as that. His mind went immediately to the scar on his neck, where Inuyasha had bitten him over a century ago. Could it be? It shouldn't… but the scents lingering in the air around his son told him it was.

"It's a mating mark," he told him simply.

Tennin looked back up at him, leaving the wound exposed. "I don't understand." His eyes were curious and wide, and his face was calm and innocent.

Sesshoumaru paused. He had always known – not thought, not suspected, _known_ – that his sons would become lovers. He had just assumed that they would realize what they were doing when they did. Somehow, they had never learned about sex, and it had turned into a game.

Instead of answering, Sesshoumaru found himself touching his nose to Tennin's cheek, the closest he had come to kissing either of his sons in decades. He smelled good… and the innocence on his young face as he spoke about this was somehow appealing… Without thinking about it, he moved and lightly kissed him, running his tongue over the boy's sweet-tasting lips. Tennin's lips were parted slightly for his breath, and he slipped his tongue between them, exploring the inside of his mouth. His beautiful son…

He pulled himself away, seeing slight, calm confusion on Tennin's face. The boy didn't understand… Realizing that added another spark to the urge that was slowly sliding over his mind. He could teach him by showing him. It need never be more than this once, and ever escalate as it had with his father… His lips hovered over Tennin's again, prepared to kiss him and teach him…

But… Inuyasha would despise him if he did this. He would hate him… would take the boys and leave him. He would hate him if he ever found out that he'd kissed him already. He didn't want that…

And he didn't want to do this to either of his sons. He had fallen terribly, impossibly in love with his own father when he'd done this, to the point where he had obsessed over him for two hundred years after his death, and he didn't want to do that to Tennin, his young, innocent son…

He pulled himself away again. "I'm sorry," he murmured. His mind won out over the urge, but it was still there. "I should not have done that."

"What does it mean?" Tennin asked. "I have seen you and Uncle Inuyasha do it, but if it shouldn't be done…"

He buried his chagrin. He'd never realized that his sons had seen them kiss… but Tennin was observant. Inu-maru probably hadn't noticed. "There is a reason Inuyasha and I kiss. We are mates. This mark on my neck-" he turned his head to show him, "-shows that I am his."

"So does my bite say that I belong to Inu-maru?" He didn't seem too distressed at the idea.

Sesshou turned his head back to look at him. "How many times has he bitten you?"

"Once."

"Then no. The full mark requires four bites." He looked at the wound again. "It will heal within a few days, but you will have a faint scar even from one bite."

Tennin nodded and looked up at him again. "Father, how are you and Uncle Inuyasha mates? I thought that was a title for males and females who had children…"

He had hoped to wait a while longer before explaining their complicated family to either of his sons, but there was no reason to refuse to tell him. "Inuyasha and I are mates, although he is also my half-brother. He is also your brother's father."

Tennin actually managed to look completely confounded. "I thought you were our father. How can he be only Inu's father and not mine…?"

"Inu-maru is only your half-brother, as Inuyasha is mine; you have different fathers," he explained patiently, running his claws through his hair lightly. Because he couldn't follow his desire did not mean he couldn't touch him. "Inuyasha is his father. You only saw your father for a few hours after you were born."

Tennin froze in his lap. "The scary man…" he said quietly.

Sesshoumaru considered, watching hims and stroking his hair calmly to soothe him. "Is that what you call him? It fits. His name was Naraku. He tried to take you from me, but I didn't let him. I carried both you and Inu-maru." He was not about to actually call himself their mother, however. He watched his son calmly to see how he would take it, glad it was the steady Tennin he was speaking to and not the wild Inu-maru.

Tennin seemed to take it fairly stoically. "So you took the female role…"

He tried to avoid being annoyed with the comparison. There was a difference between looking like and being a female. "Male youkai can bear children under specific circumstances. I don't know if you or your brother will be able to, because of the human blood in you, but because you're more youkai than human, I think it's possible."

"All right." Tennin seemed to accept the new information without question or comment. Perhaps he would get Inuyasha to explain this to Inu-maru; they seemed to understand and be able to talk to each other in a way Sesshoumaru could not. "But I still don't understand how you could be mates."

"Do you understand how men and women mate?"

He thought carefully about it before he answered. "No," he finally said, and Sesshoumaru nodded. They had managed to keep them maybe too sheltered…

"Tell me how you were playing first," he said. Tennin fairly emotionlessly related what they had done, and Sesshoumaru nodded again and proceeded to explain it to him.

_ – =*= – _

Tennin returned to his room to await Inu-maru's arrival. He thought over what his father had told him; he was anxious to tell Inu-maru. At least they would understand what they were doing next time.

The revelation that his entire family as he had known it was false barely fazed him. He could understand why Father would keep those things from them; it would have confused them when they were younger, to start with. They also didn't actually need to know. It was just simpler to have things as they had been. He had revealed it when he asked, at least. Now that he knew, he would tell Inu, of course, and explain everything to him. Father had asked him to find Inu and send him to him so that he could tell him everything he had just told Tennin, but he had declined. He thought it would be easier to tell him himself.

He picked up the flower Inu had given him and looked at it, wrapping himself completely in his fur. He was surrounded by the scent and feel of Father, enclosed in a small dark cave, the only illumination coming from the pale light of the glowing flower in his hands. There was something special about this flower… It had been picked more than a day ago, yet was showing no adverse effects. Also… it felt like Father, though he couldn't have explained it. Lifting it to his sensitive nose, he smelled it. It smelled nothing like father, instead it had a clean tangy scent like a still pool… but it reminded him of him nonetheless. He liked that.

He started as Inu suddenly poked his nose, followed by the rest of his face, into the fur cave. "Are you hiding?" he asked with a lolling grin.

"I'm waiting for you." He swiftly turned and replaced the flower in its vase outside of the fur, as Inu scrambled inside to join him. When Inu was seated in front of him, he leaned forward and kissed him in the dark.

Inu grinned at him; he could just barely see it. "I like this game. You want to play again?"

"Father explained it to me. I would like to do it after I tell you what he said, though."

Inu continued grinning. "Okay."

Tennin moved to sit in Inu's lap, pulling the loose fur tighter around them. As he shifted slightly, he could detect the signs Father had talked about in Inu; he could faintly smell the scent of his arousal, and he could feel his member getting hard beneath him. He noticed clinically that it aroused him to feel and smell that, and he was anxious to explain it to him so that the could continue with their game.

He swiftly explained everything to him, starting with their family situation and onto the mating, explaining further when Inu needed him to. Once he was satisfied Inu-maru comprehended everything, they got back to exploring the knowledge with each other.

_ – =*= – _

Inuyasha found the boys in the garden, Inu a dog, fetching a stick as his brother threw it for him. He veered off course and dropped the stick, though, as he saw him, running forward and leaping up, turning to a boy and he did to hug him. Inuyasha laughed and caught him.

"Wanna play?" Inu-maru asked hopefully.

Inu shook his head, distracted by what he smelled on him. "Not right now." He narrowed his eyes slightly, turning his ears back, then knelt and let him go. "Go on. Tennin, come here a moment." Inu scampered away, and Tennin did a he was asked, stepping forward. Inuyasha smelled him briefly, then gave a low growl and turned to run back inside.

"Sesshoumaru!" he yelled as he slammed the door open. Sesshou looked at him, startled, but only caught a glanced of his infuriated face before he was slammed into the floor hard enough to splinter the wooden boards. He struggled to react, either defend himself or figure out what had gone wrong, but instinct swamped his mind, screaming that he had done something wrong, displeased his mate, hurt Inuyasha, and now he was going to pay…

Fighting the urge of their mating bond that told him to cower and beg forgiveness, he twisted from directly under him and raised his hand to defend himself. Inuyasha grabbed his hand harshly and twisted it so that the bones in his arm ground against each other and snapped with a sick sound. The pain that washed into his mind bolstered the urging of the mark. Give in, appease him…

"Inuyasha…!" he gasped around the pain, then whined abruptly as a fist slammed his head into and then through the floor. Blood gushed from his nose and splinter cuts as the ragged edges of the hole caught at his hair.

"You son of a bitch!" Inuyasha's words and the tone of his voice made him flinch more than the pain. "How could you? How could you do that to them?"

He tried to raised his broken arm to shield his face, struggling to think through pain and instinct to cower. "Inuyasha…" His arm was yanked painfully down and pinned underneath a heavy knee as a fist slammed the side of his head into the jagged wood. "What did I…" he tried to get out.

Inuyasha cut him off as he hit him again. He tasted blood. "I know what you did! They're just little kids!"

He still didn't know what was going on. So hard to think. Pain, Inuyasha, anger… He'd done this… He'd made Inuyasha this angry at him and he didn't know how. So hard to think… His mate was hurting him and he didn't know why, he just had to make him not angry with him anymore. Something to do with the children… what had he done recently with the children? Told them about sex?

"Inuyasha-" he pleaded, trying to reason with him again. "They're older than I-"

Then there were claws slicing down his chest and Inuyasha was screaming at him, the brute force of his rage overriding the pain and everything else. "You think that makes it any better? _Because you waited a little longer than your father did?_"

A high whine of distress warred with the end of the words. He had to appease Inuyasha… His mate hated him… "I didn't…" he swore desperately. "I didn't…"

"Fucking _liar_!" The sound of more breaking bones accompanied pain from his chest as fists abused his ribs. "I can smell it on them! They smell like sex and you and nothing else! It's all fucking over them!"

"…I only kissed him…"

A wordless sound of rage was covered by his scream of agony as claws dug into the side of his neck, slicing into the mating mark as though they meant to rip it out, and rip his throat out at the same time. His mind couldn't comprehend. Mate… pain… killing him…didn't want him…

The claws were suddenly ripped free, and Inuyasha's weight was flung off of him, landing with a thud across the room. Something soft covered his head and shoulders gently. Even before he forced his eyes open to see Tennin forming a strong shield that shimmered above him he realized that Inuyasha was right about the smell.

"Tennin, move!" Inuyasha yelled, and Sesshoumaru whined again in pain from the anger in his mate. "I won't let him get away with it!"

A red and white streak dashed past Tennin and latched onto Inuyasha. "Stop!" Inu-maru begged as he grabbed his father's arms as though to hold him. "Please, don't hurt him!"

"After what he did? I'll kill him!" Inuyasha shrugged his son away.

"…didn't…" Sesshoumaru panted, struggling to focus enough to see, let alone speak. There was no way he could fight the pain and the instinct any more. He just had to do whatever it took for Inuyasha to not hate him. If that meant dying, he would… "…sorry…"

"It was us." Tennin's voice and face were both like ice as he crouched over him. His fur and clothes were all stained with red as they absorbed his blood… Sesshoumaru's distracted eyes briefly saw black hair instead of silver and then it was Naraku over him, trying to protect him from Inuyasha this time instead of the other way around.

A weak whine, faint even to his own ears, drifted into the air.

Tennin's hand touched his hair as thought to soothe him. "Father did nothing. It was Inu-maru and myself. I was taking him to bathe when you found us."

"Why is his smell all over you?" Inuyasha demanded, still held back by Inu-maru.

"We were inside of my fur. The one he gave me. It smells just like him."

Inuyasha's enraged expression faltered. "…It was you…?"

"…didn't…" Sesshoumaru breathed.

Inuyasha's eyes moved from Tennin to his mate; Sesshoumaru flinched at the eye contact and looked away. "You didn't…"

Sesshoumaru didn't answer; Inuyasha realized after a few seconds that he had lost consciousness. His anger abruptly evaporated and he lost his aggressive stance, putting a hand on Inu-maru's back to guide him toward Sesshoumaru as he moved toward him himself.

"Stay back," Tennin instructed coldly.

"I'm not going to hurt him…"

"You already did," Inu-maru pointed out, and pushed him backward a little. He stopped and helplessly watched Inu easily run into Tennin's shield and nudge Sesshoumaru's cheek. Kami, it was a mess. Blood everywhere, and Sesshou lying in it, half eviscerated… He'd kill anyone who did that to his mate. Except that person was him.

It was for the kids, though…

He looked at Tennin and Inu-maru again. "It was you," he repeated. "Not him…?"

"It wasn't him," Tennin repeated, and touched Sesshoumaru's hair again. Inuyasha twitched to be the one doing that. That was his injured mate there…

"Who did he touch?" he asked. "He said he kissed someone. Who?"

"Me," Tennin told him.

His ears flicked back. "Bastard…"

Inu-maru growled, looking up at him with his eyes narrowed. Tennin's face remained cold. "He apologized and then explained everything. He didn't hurt me."

"He shouldn't have done it." He watched Sesshoumaru lie there. "It's sick. He shouldn't have touched you that way."

"But you hurt him for it. You shouldn't have touched him _that_ way," Tennin pointed out with his seething anger under the surface.

Inuyasha growled to himself – mostly at himself – and moved forward, trying to push aside the shield Tennin had erected. "Let me in, I'm going to help him."

Tennin looked at him coldly and didn't remove it.

Inu-maru looked up at Inuyasha. "Is he going to be okay?"

"He'll heal…" Probably. "Let me put him in bed."

"I'll do it." Inu-maru moved and scooped Sesshoumaru up easily and moved him to the bed. Tennin stayed close enough to keep them easily in the protective bubble, sitting beside Sesshoumaru, placing himself between him and Inuyasha.

With a sigh, Inuyasha crouched against the wall, watching them. At least they weren't driving him out. But it was obvious they didn't trust him, and weren't about to let him close, let alone leave them alone…

"He'll be okay…" he tried to assure them.

"He had better be," Tennin said calmly.

Inuyasha met his eyes, briefly captured by them. Why had he never noticed this before? They weren't brown at all, they were deep red… and he didn't know why he thought that they were sad… they were dark and hard, without any emotion at all.

He pulled his eyes away. "He will," he said firmly, and shifted uncomfortably. He had to get to his mate. "I can hear him whining… He needs me. Let me to him."

Tennin met his eyes coldly. Inu-maru shifted, but it was obvious who the choice belonged to.

But he couldn't just sit here while Sesshoumaru was in pain, his fault or not. He needed him. He wasn't going to let the kids keep them apart. "Damn it, I'm his mate! Just let me touch him!"

Tennin looked at him coldly a moment more. His hands curled into fists. Was he really being held prisoner by the kids?  
But the shimmering shield suddenly disappeared and the younger boy slid to his feet.

"Tennin?" Inu-maru looked up at him.

"He's right. Father needs him."

Inuyasha pushed himself to his feet and was beside Sesshou on the bed in a moment, running his claws through his hair. Seshoumaru gave a quiet whimper and turned his face toward him. Kami, there was a lot of blood. The scar on his neck was ugly and throbbing around the puncture marks from his claws. How was he going to make this up to him?

Inu-maru stayed at Sesshoumaru's other side, watching him closely. "Why did you attack him?" he demanded. "Why did you hurt him?"

He only glanced up, but Tennin answered. "He thought Father had sex with us."

"So?"

"So it's sick," he told them both.

"He wouldn't hurt us."

"It's _wrong_." He swept his eyes over both of them, even as he pulled Sesshoumaru close. He could feel his mate unconsciously responding to the tone of his voice and heard a quiet whimper. "And if he touches either one of you like that again, you need to tell me, because I'm not going to let him get away with it. There's no excuse."

He heard Inu-maru growl a little, but Tennin touched his brother's head to calm him, then nudged him to his feet. "He won't hurt him," he said, leading him toward the door, and gave Inuyasha a chilling look over his shoulder than said he had better not.

He watched them go and pulled his injured mate into his arms, licking blood off his cheek gently as he waited for him to heal.

_ – =*= – _

Inu-maru whined as he paced restlessly in their room. Tennin sat immobile on the bed, perfectly calm to his brother's anxiety.

"Father with be all right," he assured him.

Inu turned and sprawled on the ground at his feet. Looking up at him. "Why did he do it?" That was still distressing him. "Why would my father do that to Dad, when he's his mate? He thought he hurt us, but he didn't have to attack him…" His ears lay flat, and his claws dug restlessly into the floor.

"He thought he was protecting us. He's just too much like you… he's impetuous."

"He almost killed him. He was _going_ to kill him, I know he was…"

"But he didn't," Tennin pointed out calmly. "We saved him. Uncle Inuyasha loves him and he won't hurt him again. He was only angry."

"But what if he gets angry again and does?" Inu pointed out. "He did it once, he could do it again." A growl bubbled from his throat at the idea.

"Then we'll kill him."

Inu-maru looked at him silently for a moment, then nodded decisively and sat up beside him. "If we have to, we will. But he'd better not… I don't want to lose either of them."

"I know," Tennin said, and leaned gently on him. "Neither do I. If Uncle Inuyasha ever hurts father again, though, I will."

Inu-maru nodded again and gently licked at Tennin's stripes. The younger graced his brother with an almost undetectable smile, and Inu wrapped his arms possessively around him. Tennin snuggled into him.

"It'll be all right, Tennin," Inu swore firmly. "He won't hurt him again; we'll be happy. You believe me."

And Tennin did believe him, even though he had only blind faith. It seemed enough.

_ – =*= – _

A low sound made Inuyasha raise his head from where it rested on Sesshoumaru's shoulder. His brother's eyes were opened just a touch.

"Sesshou?" he asked quietly.

His eyes opened completely and focused on his face. "Inuyasha," he murmured.

"I'm glad you're awake…" He nuzzled his bloodstained neck briefly. "Do you feel okay?"

"I'm whole."

"That's not really what I meant…" He sat up and looked down at him. Sesshou looked back, but he was closed off, as distant from him as the mating bond would let him be. "I'm sorry."

He only looked at him, that blank but icy look that made him squirm. He was suddenly seized by the fear that Sesshoumaru wouldn't be able to forgive him. It was literally impossible that he wouldn't – he was his mate, he was obliged to basically worship him, he couldn't possibly hold a grudge. Knowing that didn't stop him from fearing it.

"Sesshou…"

"It's your right," he said finally.

Inuyasha grimaced. "I'm sorry, Sesshou," he repeated. "Don't say that. I didn't want to hurt you. I just smelled that on them, and I thought…"

"You thought that I would do that to them." His voice was calm.

Inuyasha's ears flattened and he glanced away. "I'm sorry."

"You've never trusted me," Sesshoumaru said quietly. His voice was still very calm. "You always assumed that I would become our father."

"I'm sorry," he said again. He didn't know what else to say to make this better.

"You were right not to."

His ears perked up as he looked at him, confused. "But you didn't…"

"No. But I kissed Tennin… I was going to. I wanted to. And I would have, if not for the thought of how much you would hate me."

He stared at Sesshoumaru; his brother stared back frankly. It unsettled him, and conflicting emotions warred in his mind… He didn't want to have to hear that from him. He didn't _want_ Sesshoumaru to have those disgusting urges, but he wanted simultaneously to reassure him that he would never hate him… Even if it wasn't true. He was as bound by the mark as his mate; he couldn't stand to see him distressed or hurt, couldn't stand to have him not trust him… but he couldn't tell him something that wasn't true. If he hurt the kids, he'd kill him, and they both knew it…

"I trust you now," he said finally. "You didn't. I know you won't… I know you know I won't let you."

Sesshoumaru nodded and closed his eyes. It wasn't a perfect solution, Inuyasha knew, but it would work; it was a balance that couldn't be upset.

He wrapped his arms firmly around Sesshoumaru and nuzzled into his hair. His mate responded in kind, relaxing into him.

"I'm sorry," Sesshou murmured.

"I am too," he answered. "This was fucked up… I just want to put it behind us. Are we okay now?"

Sesshoumaru nodded easily. "Yes, we're okay."

"Good." He kissed his head. "Want me to help you wash all this off?"

"Yes, I would like that."

Inuyasha slid off the bed and pulled his mate into his arms – completely unnecessary, but the blank startle expression on Sesshoumaru's face was worth it. He grinned at him and gave him a kiss as he carried him out of the room… and knew everything was all right when Sesshou returned it.

_ – =*= – _

Tennin led the way back to their Father's bedroom, pausing to steel himself against what they might see. Despite his confidence, he couldn't help being a little worried… A little afraid, even. They didn't know what Uncle Inuyasha was capable of. He stood there long enough that Inu-maru had to whine at his back for him to move forward again.

He pushed the door open, secretly afraid that he would find Father bloody and hurt with Inuyasha standing over him, a scene such as he had seen in the first moments of his life – or worse yet, Father dead and Inuyasha gone, having killed him and abandoned them. It was a senseless, baseless fear, but it was so strong he could see it in his mind, if he even allowed himself to consider it. He prayed wordlessly that he was just uselessly worrying.

As he opened the door he let out an inaudible sigh of relief; his fears were unfounded. Inuyasha was sitting quietly on the bed, running his fingers through his brother and mate's hair, as Sesshoumaru purred contentedly in his arms.

Both of the adults looked over at them as they came in, meeting their eyes. After a brief moment, Sesshoumaru shifted slightly and opened his arm in invitation. Tennin immediately went to him and took his seat in his lap, resting his head on his father's shoulder. Inu-maru followed and made room for himself next to Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha put his arm around him snugly, the other still holding Sesshoumaru.

"See?" Inu-maru told his brother, grinning at him as his tail thumped on the bed. "I told you it would be all right."

Tennin actually smiled, leaning his head into Sesshou, and quietly touched the fully formed mark on his neck.

_~end~_

_NOTES: I had this written before I finished _In a Blue Moon_, but it was hand-written and needed to be typed. It turned out to be too daunting a task and I didn't do it for… well, quite some time. (Three years… ^^; ) The reason I finally got it out and spent twelve concerted hours typing and rewriting it? Because of two reviewers, one who mentioned being a fan of the stories in a review for a different story and one who sent me an e-mail, asking for the sequel. That means YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. Everybody who reviews, you're what keeps me writing. Thanks, everybody!_

_Okay, soapbox gone now. ^^;_


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